Chappell Has an Easy Time With a Difficult Transition

If Darian Chappell keeps playing as she did Wednesday, she will be the envy of her older peers.

Chappell, of Camarillo, who turned 17 only 12 days ago but is in the 18-and-under division, was overpowering in two victories Wednesday in the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships.

She opened the day with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Erin Smith of Thousand Oaks in the first round of singles at the Los Caballeros Sports Village.

Then Chappell and Jonni Seymour of Bakersfield, seeded first in doubles, powered their way to Sunday’s final with a 7-6, 6-0 victory over third-seeded Holli Freudenberg and Amy Medlin. Chappell and Seymor misfired early but overpowered their opponents in the tiebreaker, 7-0, then breezed in the second set.

“We love tiebreakers,” Chappell said. “It’s not the ideal situation, but for some reason we pull together. “

In 1995, Chappell reached the semifinals of both singles and doubles in the 16-and-under division. Now she’s making the difficult jump to 18s look easy.

In the first two rounds of doubles, Chappell and Seymour posted scores of 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-1.

Seymour, who met Chappell two years ago, is a left-hander with a big serve. Chappell has a punishing forehand and strong instincts at the net.

Together, they pack a one-two punch that most opponents can’t handle.

“We have a lot of fun, and I’ve never had a doubles partner I’ve clicked so well with,” Chappell said. “We’re looking forward to nationals.”

The two have already qualified for the national junior doubles championships later this summer. But first they have a 2 p.m. appointment Sunday with unseeded Allison Arvizu of Huntington Beach and Natalie Exon of Irvine).

Chappell will face seventh-seeded Sanaz Ghazal of Temecula in the round of 16. Deborah Pepkowitz of Calabasas also advanced in the 18s, after routing Mai Nguyen of Santa Ana, 6-1, 6-0.

Dylan Mann of Canoga Park and Joseph Gilbert of Fullerton, seeded third in boys’ 18 doubles, breezed into today’s semifinals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Joost Hol of Santa Ana and Ryan Moore of Fullerton. Mann and Gilbert will face top-seeded Scott Kintz and Trent Miller of San Diego at 1 p.m.

No. 7 Mann and No. 8 Nick Varvais of Simi Valley won first-round matches in boys’ 18 singles. Mann defeated Christopher Lee of Rancho Palos Verdes, 6-1, 6-2, and Varvais beat Kunio Koga of San Diego, 6-1, 6-1.